Sports

Telijjawila to Chelmsford kasun Rajitha’s dream

Published

11 months ago

2025/04/20

Quite a few Sri Lankan fast bowlers are turning out in County Cricket this season. Kasun Rajitha is Essex’s newest signing.

There was a time when Sri Lankan parents drummed into their kids that the only ticket out of the rat race was a university degree. Unless you were born with a silver spoon, it was books over bats. But those equations have been rewritten. These days, if you can land the ball on a sixpence and send stumps cartwheeling, the world’s your oyster.

Just ask Kasun Rajitha — the latest poster boy for how far cricket can take you. Hailing from the sleepy hamlet of Telijjawila, tucked away in the heartland of Matara, Rajitha has swapped village gravel for Chelmsford’s green carpets after being roped in as Essex’s overseas pro.

It’s been quite the journey for the lanky quick. From a backwater that barely knew cricket to the hallowed turf where titans like Graham Gooch, Sir Alastair Cook, John Lever, Keith Boyce and Mark Waugh once strutted their stuff. Rajitha’s rise has been more tortoise than hare, but he’s carved a niche with grit, guile, and gallons of sweat.

One of Sri Lanka’s quiet revolutions in Test cricket has been the way our pacers have punched above their weight abroad. Rajitha may not grab the headlines, but he’s been a key cog in the wheel — doing the donkey work while others grab the glory.

The pecking order, though, is a tough dressing room to crack. Asitha Fernando is usually the first name on the team sheet. Then comes Lahiru Kumara — the firebrand with raw pace. If a third seamer’s needed, the variety of Vishwa Fernando’s left-arm angle often gets the nod. Now, with Milan Ratnayake floating around as a seam-bowling all-rounder, Kasun’s opportunities are few and far between.

In fact, he hasn’t played a Test since March last year. And ironically, in that very game, he picked up a bagful — eight wickets — but still found himself warming the bench. At home, selectors rarely go beyond two seamers. Overseas, they look for contrast. Rajitha, it seems, is often the bridesmaid, never the bride.

What he lacks in express pace or eye-popping variations, he makes up for with discipline and doggedness. He’s the kind of bowler who hits the top of off till the batter blinks first. A workhorse who thrives in the long haul, not the highlight reel.

County cricket, meanwhile, is no walk in the park. It’s a marathon, not a sprint — cricket under cloudy skies with hardly a breather. When you’re not sending down overs by the dozen, you’re on a coach to some other ground. There’s little time for nets or rehab — it’s rinse and repeat. But it’s also the best boot camp to turn you into a thoroughbred pro.

Rajitha’s new-ball buddy Asitha Fernando has also boarded the county train, donning Glamorgan colours in Wales. He’s already hit the ground running, bagging four wickets in his first outing. Meanwhile, Vishwa Fernando, after spells with Yorkshire and Durham, is now at Warwickshire, the same county that Kumar Sangakkara represented in 2007.

The trend is unmistakable. Once upon a time, English counties turned to the Caribbean or South Africa when they wanted fast bowling firepower. Now, they’re looking east — beyond Colombo in fact. In far off places like Matara and Katuneriya.

And let’s not kid ourselves — the pay packet isn’t too shabby either. A full season fetches between 80,000 to 120,000 British Pounds. Multiply that by 400 and that’s good enough to buy an apartment over here.

Of course, those in the IPL are in a different financial stratosphere altogether. Dasun Shanaka, who just inked a deal with Gujarat Titans, might carry drinks all tournament, but he’ll return with a cool $87,000 in his account. That’s how the IPL has turned the cricketing economy on its head — what County cricket offer now feels like peanuts.

Still, for the grinders, the grafters, and the late bloomers, County cricket remains a proving ground. And for Rajitha, it’s a well-earned second wind.

by Rex Clementine

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Latest News

PSL 2026: Teams allowed to submit two XIs and pick one after toss

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/27

Priyan

Hyderabad Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne warms up [PSL]

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne, captains of Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, walked out with two team sheets each for the toss ahead of the opening matchof PSL 2026 and selected their final XIs based on which way the coin fell.

This was in accordance with a new regulation in the PSL playing conditions, which permits the captains to submit two team sheets to the match referee before the toss and finalise one of the submitted line-ups after the toss.

The clause 1.2.1 in the “Nomination and Replacement of Players” section reads: “Before the toss, each captain may submit two (2) different XI lineups in writing to the PSL Match Referee. Each lineup must include 11 players and a maximum of 4 substitute fielders (subject to Clause 1.2.5). After the toss, each captain must finalise one of the two submitted lineups by signing the selected team sheet. Once the final lineup has been nominated, no player listed in the selected playing eleven may be changed before the start of the match without the consent of the opposing captain.”

Tosses can play a significant role in this part of the world in night matches as a result of dew. The ball often gets wet and difficult to grip for the spinners, making them ineffective in the second innings. This change in the playing conditions is expected to provide a level playing field – a team batting first can add a fast bowler instead of a spinner while a team batting second can look to add depth to their batting.

There were no signs of dew in the first match of the season however because of the wind throughout the day and cloud cover.

[Cricinfo]

Latest News

Japan Premier League [JPL], building cricket from the ground up

Published

16 hours ago

2026/03/27

Priyan

Japan has been taking cricket seriously and starting to make a bit of an impression [Cricinfo]

The Japan Premier League (JPL) T20 competition is cricket’s unlikely outpost – a self-sustaining though struggling-to-survive tournament far away from cricket’s traditional centres. It’s on a growth path just over a decade into its existence, starting to connect local players to those outside, and looking to create a cricketing community in the country.

It was founded in 2015 with four regions – North, South, East and West Kanto (Tokyo region) – in the fray, with games held at the home venues of each of the teams. That model was scrapped owing to low turnouts, and the tournament has since been played at one or the other venue, while Kansai (Osaka region) has come in as the fifth team.

In 2026, the JPL will be a three-day competition – May 2 to 4 – with 12 games at the Sano International Cricket Ground. All the buzz in the lead-up is about the participation of former Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne, BBL winner Josh Brown, and Nepal allrounder Karan KC.

“A major goal,” Alan Curr, the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) chief operations officer, says, “is to showcase a good standard of cricket for Japanese fans so that they can really see and understand what the sport looks like.”

The challenge there is that despite being played in Japan since 1863, cricket hasn’t found a niche. There has been some systemic progress, with the formation of the JCA in the 1980s, five-year plans running up to 2032, and the presence of men and women’s leagues for juniors and seniors – including the JPL, which struggled to find traction early on.

One of the reasons for excitement recently was that a significant majority of the 15 players in Japan’s squad at the 2020 Under-19 World Cup came through the Cricket Blast, the junior participation programme. However, that’s not translated to mass acceptance or participation.

“Often, for us, cricket in itself isn’t enough to attract people to the ground,” Curr says. “We have to be creative and come up with other things – dance, music, food, drinks and Japanese commentary. But the hope is that if they see the game, it’s of a high standard because when fans see players doing special things, it’s easier to be impressed.”

When it comes to the players, not everyone is too ambitious. Those that are have rewards to aim for as the JPL can have a significant effect on selection for the national side. Having said that, those in the national side are not professionals – they are students or are employed – and use their annual leaves for international assignments. Making time can be a challenge.

“A lot of the players here play recreationally,” Curr says. “Cricket is a recreational hobby to them rather than a high-performance pursuit. For us, concentrating the talent, getting players together at once to give local players the opportunity to play at a higher standard, and going overseas and playing cricket isn’t a feasible option. [So] to be able to bring high-level cricket here is really important.”

“At the moment, we are relying heavily on the goodwill of people, who are happy to come out and play for no payment and out of the kindness of their heart. We know that’s not sustainable. If we can get financial backing, getting a sponsor on board will really make a big difference”

Alan Curr, the COO of the Japan Cricket Association

The last bit is why Brown, especially, coming to JPL in 2024 was critical. Brown is a “pro player” – each team gets one – and will be returning for his third year in a row.

“He signed up quite a long time in advance – that year he had a breakthrough year in the Big Bash,” Curr says. “He scored 140 off 57 balls against Adelaide Strikers. We had him locked in when he did that, but we hadn’t announced it. Then his profile went up, and he started playing leagues around the world. Fair play to him, he still came.

“That year, people were pretty excited when we made that announcement, and people did come and the live-streaming certainly got up. It was the first time we had someone of genuine stature coming over and being involved.”

Other than pro players, the 14-player squads have four retained from the previous year’s teams. All of them find their teams in a draft – this year’s draft took place on March 24.

Where do these players come from, and how do they make their way? “Inside Japan is through domestic performances and trials at the start of the year for any new players,” Curr says. “The overseas talent right now comes from our own contacts as we want to make sure we get players who really understand what the tournament is about. It’s a development league; there’s no salary for these players. We just cover their costs.”

As for the future, there are different avenues for expansion. One is getting more pro players into teams, which, according to Curr, could squeeze out local players, making it a less-than-ideal option. Having more teams is more appealing, as is the prospect of having a nine-day tournament than one only over a long weekend.

“All of those things require funding. At the moment, we are relying heavily on the goodwill of people, who are happy to come out and play for no payment and out of the kindness of their heart,” Curr says. “We know that’s not sustainable. If we can get financial backing, getting a sponsor on board will really make a big difference.”

So far, cricket in Japan made news when the national team did anything of note, like qualifying for the 2020 and 2026 men’s Under 19 World Cups. If the JPL can take the next steps towards becoming bigger and better, maybe it will start attracting interest from other parts of the world in a more significant way. And that in turn could mean the next step for cricket in Japan as a whole.

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Rukunayake steadies Trinity after early collapse

Published

22 hours ago

2026/03/27

Thilina Walpola

A stubborn knock of 59 runs by Praveen Rukunayake helped Trinity College recover from a disastrous start to post 173 runs against Nalanda College on day one of their Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ quarter-final played at the BOI Ground on Thursday.

‎Trinity suffered an early setback when open batsman Puleesha Thilakarathne and one-drop Mahendra Abeysinghe were dismissed in quick succession with the scoreboard yet to move. The early blows left Trinity struggling, and they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Nalanda’s bowlers maintained pressure.

‎With the innings in danger of collapsing completely, number eight batsman Praveen Rukunayake produced a determined effort, compiling a valuable 59 runs. His fighting knock helped Trinity recover from the early damage and guide them to a modest but competitive total of 173.

‎For Nalanda, Malsha Fernando led the bowling attack with an impressive spell, claiming four wickets for 49 runs, while Hasitha Rathnayake provided solid support with three wickets for 38.

‎In reply, Nalanda too found scoring difficult against a disciplined Trinity bowling attack. At the close of play on day one, Nalanda were struggling at 98 for five wickets, leaving the quarter-final finely poised heading into the second day.

‎‎Kumarasiri’s 11-wicket haul sets up thrilling finish

‎‎The Under 19 Division I Tier B cricket quarter-final between Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya and Sri Sumangala College, Panadura was finely balanced after an eventful second day which saw 20 wickets tumble at Kuruvita on Thursday.

‎At stumps, Sri Sumangala were 59 for two wickets chasing a modest target of 156 runs, leaving the Panadura outfit needing fewer than 100 runs with eight wickets in hand when play resumes on the final day.

‎The biggest question heading into the decider will be whether the wicket continues to behave the same way it did on the second day when bowlers dominated proceedings throughout the day.

‎Sri Dharmaloka, who secured a useful first innings lead of 67 runs, failed to capitalise on the advantage as they collapsed dramatically in their second innings. Left-arm spinner Mevindu Kumarasiri produced a match-turning spell claiming six wickets to complete an outstanding match haul of 11 wickets.

‎Kumarasiri received excellent support from Methum Fernando as the pair shared all ten wickets between them while Sri Dharmaloka were bowled out for just 89 runs. Only Tharusha Mihiranga showed some resistance with a top score of 24.

‎Sri Dharmaloka appeared steady after moving past the 50-run mark for the loss of four wickets, but their middle and lower order folded quickly within the space of 14 overs to hand Sri Sumangala a realistic chance of victory.

‎Chasing 156 runs, Sri Sumangala made a confident start despite losing an early wicket. Opener Vidura Basuru played an aggressive knock of 33 runs which included three fours and a six and shared a valuable 41-run stand for the second wicket with Sandeepa Wijeratne.

‎Basuru was eventually dismissed by Koshitha Adithya, leaving Wijeratne unbeaten on 17 at the close of play with the match delicately poised.

‎Earlier in the day, Sri Dharmaloka’s bowlers staged a strong fightback to dismiss Sri Sumangala for 144 runs in reply to their first innings total of 211.

‎Tishan Nipun led the attack with impressive figures of 4 for 43 while Sathindu Praboda provided strong support with 3 for 44 as the pair shared seven wickets between them. Koshitha Adithya (2/27) and Mewan Randeepana picked up the remaining wickets.

‎With Sri Sumangala needing under 100 runs and Sri Dharmaloka requiring eight wickets, an exciting finish is on the cards when the teams return for the final day. (RF)